An 18-day old male gorilla born June 17 at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park was named today. The gorilla was given the name Monroe in memory of Lee Monroe, M.D., a past president of the San Diego Zoo Global, formerly the Zoological Society of San Diego.

Monroe is the first gorilla born at the park in a decade; the last was born October 2001. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is home to six western gorillas, a species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The baby gorilla and its mother, Kokamo, can be seen on exhibit at the zoo.